Almost two years ago I tentatively dipped my toe into the world of blogging after reading some quilting blogs by accident. I'd only been playing with quilting for about a year and wasn't a hardcore quilting addict.
In my early posts when nobody was reading I struggled with showing my actual personality. In real life I'm the kind of person you either really really like or really really don't. And because I wanted to be liked in the great kingdom of Blogland all of my early posts are about as exciting as watching paint dry. I worried that I might offend people by being me, which is sometimes a problem I also have in real life because I say what I think in the very moment I think it and often have to pull my own foot out of my mouth. I swear sometimes. I'm not always very rational. I have an unusual way of looking at things. I have strong convictions and opinions and sometimes I share them without being asked. Some people call that refreshing and entertaining and others roll their eyes a lot and run to avoid me when I walk in their general direction.
At some point I put on my big girl panties and decided I was just going to be me. So I started ranting on bad days, and saying crap and bugger if I felt like it and thinking out loud on my keyboard and people started to show me they liked what I had to say. And, unlike Vincent Van Gogh I didn't have to cut my ear off or wait until I was dead to get some positive feedback.
Blogging has opened up a whole new world for me. I've made friends , real friends, and I love conversing with each and every one of you. I love to pop over to your place with a cup of tea or coffee and have a sticky at what you're getting up to . You inspire me , you lift me up, you make me laugh , and you touch my heart.
This week I reached the magical milestone of 200 followers (!!!) so it's time to send out some bloggy love of my own. I'm offering this fat quarter pack of Joel Dewberry Modern Meadow in the Berry Palate as a way of saying "Thankyou".
I'm going to put some guidelines around this giveaway to keep it fair. To enter all you have to do is leave a comment but you must be an existing follower at the time this post was published because it's all about celebrating the people who have come and commented, supported and read and generally helped make this blogging experience so much fun for me!
I'll draw this sometime next Saturday 15th October (Australian Central Time ) so you have a week to enter and I'm happy to post internationally. Good luck !
You guys rock my socks.
65 comments:
It is so true.
If you can't say what you think and be who you really are.
I quilt in my P.J's too.
Oh, and that fabric is so yummy.
You and I could be twins, you would be the funnier one. But I too am one of those people, you either love me and stick with me for life, or hate me and only put up with me when you can't leave. But that is ok! Because the ones that stick around, are the ones that I love back, because they get it............the get ME, me for who I am!! So......stay like you are, I love you for just that reason! Congrats on having so many great people that love YOU for being YOU!!!!
I notice yesterday that you made that magic figure. Some of us still struggle to be as honest, by that I mean me! Nor will I be as funny, or get as much sewing done at an ungodly hour in the morning ---- remind me why I like you again??
Wow, 200 is amazing! Well done.
I'm just starting out on this blogging malarky, I just have to remember to post more often. I keep getting distracted by reading everyones fabulous posts and then I forget to post my own...
Wow! what a milestone ! Congratulations Shay.
I stumbled on your blog by following others as you do some time ago. I happened to arrive on one of your funny days so I read more. There was one about translating Oz speak that had me laughing till I cried. I love your blog, I love the humour and the humanity and the crafty stuff too.
You are one warm, talented lady. It's no surprise to me that you have so many people following your blog.
Cheers
Look at you and your 201 followers. It's because we dearly love the unusual way you look at things, your refreshing honesty, and even your swearing. ☺ You show us the real you...the you that sews an inordinate amount (I still can't figure out how you get all that sewing done, you goddess!), takes time to leave comments that show you've actually read our posts, and the you that shows us a snippet of your fascinating life. Love ya, Shay! Congrats on your milestone. Happy to be a QIMP fan!
I've been lurking around your blog for a little while and only recently commited to becoming a follower of you and your blog and I'm soooo glad I did.I love that you're out there I wish I could be like you but I'll just have to settle for laughing at your antics,cringing at your honesty and secretly wishing I was as brave as you,you put your big girl panties on and you just go for it,well done and keep doing what your doing cos you do it so well:) Barb.
well I've got very slack at commenting (on anybody's blog) recently but as you know I'm one of your avid fan club and yours is always one of my fav blogs!
And I think I NEED to win that lovely package. I have none of that yummy fabric in my stash (which is quite a surprise to me since it's so yummy!) and it would go PERFECTLY with my lounge quilt in progress.
And have I mentioned that I've never won a giveaway.
And did I also mention that I mailed a nice fat parcel to you Thursday!?
Ok enough bribery and corruption. But it's true about the parcel. Keep and eye out for some Flutter.Kat mail.
And good luck to me and only me bahahahaha
xx
You swear sometimes?????????????????? Of course I never do, ahem, cough.
I love that you show the real you, and you have THE most wonderful sense of humour. It's been great following you through all the Slack Tea Thursday posts, the Translation Tuesday and now FTF posts and all the other hilarious goings on in QIMP land.
I'm still gobsmacked at the way you manage your time and produce such fabulous work and lots of happy quilts. You have a wicked sense of humour.
Congratulations, I feel privileged to be able to call you a friend.
YEAH! Congrats on the HUGE milestone! So excited for you... Don't forget the little people. Like me. Now that you're an international STAR!
Congratulations on your 200th post..those fabrics are Gorgeous and would look Lovely in amongst my Stash...I love reading your posts I always have a chuckle...
cheers
Sorry meant 200 Followers....
cheers
Congratulations on those 200 followers......and I am one of them.....that keep coming back to see what you have to say each day!
And I absolutely LOVE those fabrics! Wow! I would love to win those! Thanks!
Happy 200! I enjoy your directness and your sense of humor. I promise that I've never rolled my eyes whilst reading your blog...though I do confess to laughing because you can be funny!
Sock rocking is good, better thank having your socks rotted. I think you have to be Australian to get that.......
Congratulations Shay on exceeding the 200 follwers mark! I was hooked on your blog after I read your first(?) tutorial. You have a talent for making the everyday happenings in life both inspirational and hilarous, while still being down to earth. That's quite a talent. Thanks for sharing of yourself.
Thanks for being you and sharing some of that with the world. You rock!
So does that fabric, btw.
Happy to be a follower! And I'm in pajamas right now. too!! Thanks for the fun posts!!
When I started following you I really enjoyed your Translation Tuesday as I wanted to learn more about Australia since my daughter now lives there. Your Slack Tea Thursdays were also hilarious. You still keep me wanting to read with your copious amounts of quilting accomplished and the family/life that is happening. You are a great writer!
Congrats on hitting 200 followers! I am one of the regular ones that loves to hear what you say. Thanks for keeping things real -- and of course, the giveaway.
Congratulations Shay!
I'm so glad you started blogging and the fact that you say what you feel is why I love your blog.
Here's to 200 more!
I even like reading the comments on your blog! Gosh I miss Slack Tea Thursdays. There have been a lot of fun times and a lot of pretty things to look at here, and I don't see that changing anytime soon! Congrats!
I honestly do think we were sererated at birth! Foul mouths and all!! Love reading your blog, love chatting to you onling and so happy you have become my friend.
Congratulations on 200 followers! That is an amazing achievement and you did it just being yourself.
I like the way you say what you think--it's honest, authentic, and people always know where they stand with you!
congrats on 200 followers!
I'm one of those silent followers ... I don't always comment when I should! But this is a great opportunity to tell you I love your blog, your honesty, your quilting... well, you get the picture :) Congratulations on 200 followers... and thanks for the awesome giveaway.
I love reading your blog...it's so refreshing, so real, makes me giggle and makes me want to comment! Congrats on 200 followers!
Yay! I qualify! Congrats on your achievement. Thanks for the chance to win.
YOU GO GIRL! 200 following our fearless leader. You being you is a great thing, Shay. And thank you for the chance at such an awesome giveaway sister!! YOU rock MY socks! :o)
Congratulations, Shay! I love your blog and so do 199 others, I guess. :) YOU are the one who lifts up others. I always leave your blog with a smile on my face. Actually, reading your honesty has encouraged me to loosen up a bit as well, so thank you. And what a generous giveaway! If I win it, I'l send you some Oreos-but that's not a bribe!
Massive congrats, and I'm so glad that you were the first person from the internet that I met, and that neither of us turned out to be serial killers :P
Yay for the real you! Glad your foray into the deep waters of blogland have left you floating blissfully here :P Proud to be a follower. The yummy Berry lusciousness is a lovely lovely prize. Congrats on your milestone!
LOVE that fabric.. do I spot an argyle-ish print? LOVE. All of them are gorgeous. You are too. I love it when people type as though they are just talking themselves, and their personalities shine through. Congrats on the milestone and keeping it real! :)
Enjoy basking in the popularity.
I don't understand how you could possibly part with all that gorgeousness?
Oh what a wonderful assortment of fabrics!! I would love to win those, but I never won...oh well..anybody who wins this will be thrilled.
Thanks for hostung a give away and giving us the opportunity to win...I already that congrats on 2200 followers...hahaha..here I am proud of getting to 70 lol...well, I love it when you are yourself and I am proud to say "she´s a friend of mine". Thanks for letting me be a part of your world by blogging.
Congratulations on 200 followers! Those fabrics are just lovely, I sure would like them to come over and play with my stash.
Because you have your big girl panties on and are truly being you is the very reason I am a follower Shay!
You rock our socks, too, Shay! We love you just the way you are! As we gain wisdom, another way of saying "get older", we learn to be ourselves and to heck with those that don't love us the way we are.
Love the fabrics you have chosen... yummy!
Keep on keeping on!
Hugs!!!
Happy 200! And heres to 200 more! Thanks for all of the laughs Shay, its been fun getting to know you!
xxx
Congrats on 200 followers...real is good! I laugh a lot reading your blog...with you not at you! ;)
Thanks for the giveaway chance.
Wow! That's a lot of love, and thank you very much.
I finally found in my life that it's much too hard to try to please everyone, and usually no one is happy when we do that. Being yourself is one of the best gifts we give to others and to ourselves. We were all created to be different, authentically, individual personalities and that's what makes life so interesting.
Personally, I am fond of the honesty that comes when people speak first then think. Even though it hurts sometimes, you never have to wonder where you stand.
Congratulations on 200 followers!!
I Love your Blog, you always make me giggle!
The girls have said it all... Congratulations on your 200 followers, there will be many more.. It is so comfy to write in your jammies... Thankyou for the give away...
Oh, I'm so freaking entering this giveaway! You enter all of mine (what, 2?) afterall so I have to pay you back. :D
Seriously, so happy you put your big panties on 'cause you are a love and those that really, really don't like you are the same ones who would really, really not like me. I say, there's more of us than them!
Congrats on your 200 followers, chica.
Congratulations! what a wonderful giveaway to celebrate. :)
Congrats my pyjama wearing diva guru! I have always thought that the music played by those who march to the beat of their own drum is sweeter. Thanks for all your wonderful insights and the "Shay" treatment you give things we all 'adore or abhorr'
Blessings Michelle xx
I'm so glad we have become friends and I'm not saying this because I want to win this gorgeous fabric ! I love a girl who swears as much as me !
congrats on 200 - well, 201 now i see - i stumbled on your blog a little while ago from another - and really enjoy what you have to say - yay for oz chicks is all i can add - cheers
Happy big 200!!! Bugger me if this isn't a blog I can say crap in the comment and you'll keep talking to me, no wonder I keep coming back!
I love everything you write, Your is the only post I really get a laugh out of because you say exactly what you think and the fact that Lone Sock Sara described you as a cross between me and her mother made me love you even more. Keep on saying exactly what you think because I for one out of two hundred think your bloody clever and bloody funny.
WOW amazing 200 followers. Your posts always make my day.
G'day Congratulations on the 200 and no doubt you will soon have 200 more. Take care. Liz...
I'm glad to have you blogging, Shy, and even more, to visit with you in your blog window, and you in mine. Keep it comin' girlfriend, you are a bright spot on my computer ~
:-}pokey
Honestly, I need to read what I type! Shay, isn't that a funny typo to call you SHY!!! roflol
:-}pokey
Aww what fantastic goodness!! I so remember your first post, but the ones that stick in my mind are the vintage sheet quilt!! I still think about that quilt and how you did not like it but I thought it was fantastic!! Oh, and by the way...I still have not made one of those!!!
Thanks for the great giveaway and the chance....the fabics are yummy!
You say things I don't dare to say... yet! You're paving the way for other fledgling bloggers like me. I love the cheery fabrics you've chosen for your give-away, they reflect the sassy attitude here! I hope I win the fabrics, and absorb a little sass, too!
Congratulations! You're so popular - you deserve it - always a good laugh over at your place for sure. (And the rants and truth telling are always great too!)
Wooooo Shay!! 200 is awesome. I love blogs that are real and that's why I read yours. Keep it coming lady!
Awwww... what an awesome giveaway to honor your followers :) We love you EXACTLY as you are! And I always use the expression "rock my socks!" Kindred spirits. I tell you!
Oh, I have a little treat for you to make you smile...a little photo you will appreciate...just have to unpack/recover/download my pics from SS and then you will see. Just building the anticipation ;)
Happy 2-years-of-blogging-thingy!!
I found you through Seams Inspired, and am so glad I did! Congratulations on your 2 year Blogaversiary!! I agree, it can be hard to be yourself in print, but I found the same thing, in blogging people like it real and honest! Wishing you much continued success! I look foward to clebrating your third anniversary as I'm now a new follower!!
Well I'm just glad that after reading on and off for about a year, I decided to become follower #199. Happy Blogiversary and (over) 200 followers!
I've got internet again, came to check out what I've been missing here; oh my.... a giveaway!! Glad I didn't stop by too late, those fabrics are beautiful! I get to go to a quilt retreat next month (squeal.... no kids!), and I was on here trying to find a pattern for those little cloth bags. Imagine, you just made one, and these would be perfect fabrics for making them for others attending the retreat! I'll be hoping this weekend.... =) (I'd even pay the shipping!)
Congratulations on 200! The fabrics are beautiful and I would love to win. Thank you so much for being you on the internet. I look forward to reading your posts... thanks.
You hooked me on the first post I read of yours - I clicked FOLLOW right away because I wanted to hear more from this wacky, wicked woman from down under. I met a blogging friend yesterday for the first time - she lives in the next state over from me. I hope I get to meet you, too, even if you are half a world away.
I wasn't there for the beginnings of your blog, but I'm here now & I love you! You are a great friend and I love what you have to say. I'm glad you're you and not afraid to be so here in blogland.
I'm a total schmuck for not entering your giveaway, because that Joel Dewberry is, well, Berry-licious. Something weird happened last week when all this was going on and, well, I just never made it back to comment.
Keep on posting!
xo -E
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